Freight Rates

Drewry Shipping Consultants and The Cleartrade Exchange announced that the World Container Index (WCI), the first Europe-based assessment of container freight rates and index production, is scheduled for launch in September 2011.
The index will be designed to provide a new and important facility for the global market to hedge their freight rate risk and see major improvements in forward price discovery through the container derivatives market.
Significantly, the new index will be the first of its kind to report weekly freight rates on backhaul as well as headhaul routes and will provide increased efficiencies in hedging strategies for freight users dealing in bulk, commoditised and recovered cargoes. During July and August the index will be made available to a small number of lead organisations for final testing and feedback prior to launch for trading on 1st September, 2011.
Contracts will be available with at least one clearing house at or soon after the launch date and subscriptions to the index will be available from 22nd August, 2011.
The WCI reports agreed spot container freight rates for major East West trade routes and consists of 11 route-specific indices representing individual shipping routes and a composite index.
Route Assessments
The WCI has also confirmed that it will collect and publish weekly market assessments for the following routes:

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 10.7 percent to $1,198 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.
It was the second consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world's busiest route. Container freight rates have so far increased in 10 weeks this year but fallen in 23 weeks.

Drewry Maritime Research says it is hosting a free webinar for supply chain professionals to explain recent trends in ocean & air freight rates and provide an outlook for the future.
The webinar presentation will examine and explain:
Recent ocean & air freight rate trends on Global trades
Economic drivers
Drewry's outlook for freight rates
The event will be hosted by Simon Heaney, Senior Manager, and Philip Damas

In his New Year message, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines President Muto predicts loss in 2013 of same magnitude as last year, suggests new business model.
Excerpts from Mr. Muto's message follow:
"The marine transport industry has faced a challenging external environment mainly due to economic slowdowns in Europe, the U.S. and China, the yen's appreciation, and high bunker fuel prices. This has certainly been a factor behind MOL's losses

Container freight rates fell 10.2 percent on busy route; Maersk expects gradually declining rates.
Freight rates for shipping containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 10.2 percent to $738 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.
It was the fourth consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world's busiest route and the rate is the lowest since Oct. 25 last year

Drewry and the World Container Index have published a White Paper that explains how index-linked contracts work, the first definitive guide on the subject since widespread adoption commenced two years ago.
The White Paper, which is FREE to download from Drewry’s web site, examines the causes of recent container freight rate volatility and how index-linked contracts can help mitigate the impacts of such instability

Following on from the second quarter, Hapag-Lloyd once again generated a profit in the third quarter of the current financial year, primarily as a result of substantial cost reductions. Between July and September 2013, the group recorded a profit of €16.6 million, despite freight rates that continued to deteriorate. The average freight rate in the third quarter was $1,476/TEU, which was well below the previous year’s figure of $1,647/TEU

A container shipping organisation urged companies on Wednesday to raise Asia-U.S. freight rates by at least $600 per 40-foot container (FEU) from Jan. 15, corresponding to an increase of 26.6 percent from the current level.
The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) said the planned increase was part of an ongoing effort by members to reverse a decline in spot rates in the Asia-U.S. freight market.
The organisation also said container shipping companies should reinstate a $400 per

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 10.4 percent to $1,175 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.
The fall came after last week's jump of 88 percent on the world's busiest route. Container freight rates have so far increased in 12 weeks this year but fallen in 32 weeks.

Asian Panamax freight rates for dry bulk cargo edged up slightly this week in slow trade due to New Year holidays, Reuters reported. But the outlook for the Panamax sector remained healthy as activity would pick up momentum after the holiday period and the arrival of new ships was unlikely to affect Panamax rates before April, brokers said. The freight rates for the heavy grain Panamax benchmark route, U.S. Gulf to Japan, were quoted higher at $22.493 a ton compared with $22

CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipper, announced on Monday plans to order three giant vessels and said higher volumes and profit last year showed its focus on economies of scale was bearing fruit.
Like market leader Maersk Line

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 5.5 percent to $586 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

As freight rates are expected to continue to decline due to oversupply, the container shipping demand is expected to grow 3-5% this year, according to Lars Mikael Jensen, chief executive of Asia Pacific region at Maersk Line.
He said supply growth as ships ordered several years ago

As tonnage in the East Coast South America (ECSA) region continued to outnumber fresh grain requirements, Supramax front-haul freight rates fell this week, reports Platts, quoting shipping sources.
The rate for carrying a 50,000 mt grain stem from ECSA to the Far East continued at

Bragging rights for the world’s largest container ship have changed hands four times in as many months and keep on shifting again, says a report in the Bloomberg.
The megaships have come to dominate container shipping with astonishing rapidity over the past decade

As global shipping grapples with its worst downturn in 30 years, private equity firms are unwinding massive bets made on the sector in a move set to accelerate a restructuring of the shipping industry.
Private equity invested tens of billions in global shipping after the 2008 financial

Norway listed dry bulk shipper Jinhui Shipping said the tough market that owners faced last year will become tougher in 2015.
Dry bulk shipping market Environment continued to be weak despite global economic confidence has been improving in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 6.5 percent to $938 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters.

Maersk Line has reported a profit of $2.3bn for 2014 a 50% increase over the previous year, and expects a higher result in 2015, though the shipping rates remain under pressure.
But 2015 is expected to yield less impressive results due to falling oil prices

Qatar Navigation (Milaha) Q.S.C. increased fourth quarter net profit 32.8 percent, the company announced today in its 2014 financial results. It will pay a 55% cash dividend for 2014, a value of 5.5 Qatari Rials ($1.51) per share.
The company said it increased its net profit 10% in 2014

Following the plunge in dry bulk freight market, shipping companies are banking on increased iron ore exports from Brazil to China and India to shore up freight rates, reports the Hindu Businessline.
Hauling ore from Brazil to China will cost almost double than that from Australia

A third dry cargo shipper has filed for bankruptcy this month following a collapse in freight rates to historic lows in what shippers call the worst market conditions since the 1980s.
South Korea's Daebo International Shipping Co Ltd filed a court receivership, a form of corporate bankruptcy

Freight shipping prices have plummeted to a historic low, fueled by a long-standing problem of too many ships and lower demand from China, as per a report in AFP.
However, the economists say that this is not a serious warning sign on the global economy.